Indians Prospect Insider

In this week’s edition of “Coach’s Corner” the IBI's Tony Lastoria had a chance to sit down with short season Single-A Mahoning Valley hitting coach Phil Clark. They talked about the immediate impression that 2014 first round pick Bradley Zimmer made to the organization and what he excels at, the big strides that Greg Allen made at the plate, Leo Castillo’s return to form, Yonathan Mendoza’s switch-hitting experiment, Ordomar Valdez’s ability to come off the bench and the adjustments Austin Fisher needs to make.

Reports surfaced on Tuesday that Wilin Rosario is available in a trade and Chris Heisey had been traded to the Dodgers. These smaller bits of news may have completely missed the radar of most fans, but to the IBI's Jeff Ellis he believe the news is something that could have an effect on the Indians. These are two new options on the marketplace he believes could help improve the Indians roster and he explains why in his latest.

Ramon Rodriguez was the only Indians player to participate in the Venezuela Winter League All Star game on Tuesday and he performed at his best with another good outing this offseason. The IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps his performance as well as the rest of the Indians in action throughout winter ball...

Torii Hunter returned to where it all started for him on Tuesday as he agreed to a one-year deal to rejoin the Twins, the team he originally broke into the big leagues with. The Dodgers and Reds also completed an interesting trade. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps all the news and notes from the day as well as all of the non-tendered players.

With preparations already underway here at the IBI for the new 2015 Indians prospect rankings and also a new position-by-position breakdown, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at values of all the minor league players that finished the season at Triple-A Columbus and Cleveland. Over the past few months during his research for the upcoming 2015 prospect listing he has spoken with numerous people within the Indians organization as well as scouts and personnel outside the organization, and shares those insights and more on pitchers like Austin Adams, Shawn Armstrong, Kyle Crockett and more.

There has been no shortage of speculation this offseason on the availability of Boston Red Sox outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, both in the national media and on this site. But as of right now, it does not appear Cleveland and Boston line up as trade partners. Last week, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron proposed a three-team trade involving the Mariners to move Cespedes, but as Jim Piascik writes, a three-team trade involving Cleveland instead of Seattle could lead Cespedes to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario instead.

With a light schedule around the Caribbean Leagues, this gives us a chance to highlight a few former Tribe players. One such former Tribe player is Mitch Talbot who made his offseason winter ball debut with four shutout innings. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps his outing and more as he takes us Around the Farm...

December already! Where does the time go? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on Nelson Cruz heading to Seattle, two teams in "serious" pursuit of Andrew Miller, Bryce Harper heading towards a grievance, and more.

As many saw on Friday, the Athletics dealt Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays and like a lot of Indians fans, the IBI's Tony Lastoria came away less than impressed with the haul the Athletics got in return for Donaldson and was disappointed the Indians were not in on the action to land him. While Tony believes Donaldson was the perfect fit for the Indians, he wonders if the Indians were even a perfect fit with the Athletics. He also talks about the rebirth of Nick Hagadone and the Indians strength in left-handed relief options, the problems big spending can create and more.

As the 2014/2015 offseason continues one item the Indians could look to add is a veteran starting pitcher to stabilize the starting rotation. This of course would mean one of their current starters is used in a trade to fill a need elsewhere on the roster. The IBI's Kevin Sledz looks at some options the Indians could turn to in free agency or with a trade to fill a rotation need if one of their current starters departs in a trade.

With the calendar now flipping to December (!!) the winter ball regular season moves into the final month of play. With that we are going to see some familiar faces drop out and some new faces pop up over the next few weeks. One player who has popped onto the scene is fast rising shortstop prospect Erik Gonzalez started playing this past weekend in the Dominican Winter League. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps his showing as well as everyone else in the Indians system on Sunday...

While there were no big signings or blockbuster trades on Sunday, there was a lot of news throughout baseball. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps all the news and notes from the final day of November as it is the calm before the storm next weekend when the Winter Meetings start...

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end and the seasons in review finished, The WAR Room moves to ranking the top-100 prospects in 2014 based on performance. But instead of just listing based on pure performance, there is a twist to make the rankings more relevant. Join Jim Piascik as he introduces the rankings and gives his honorable mentions in the latest edition of The WAR Room.

Carlos Moncrief continues to play well out in Venezuela this offseason. He's a potential key piece to the Indians in the very near future as he has the profile to be an everyday option in right field for them by the end of next season. The IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps his night and all the other Indians playing winter ball...

The Browns play in Buffalo this afternoon! Will they keep their playoff hopes alive? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the possibility of Jeff Samardzija becoming a member of the Chicago White Sox, what the Athletics could do to fill their need at shortstop, a possible trade partner with the Indians, and more.

This past week in Major League Baseball we have seen some big signings with Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez and Adam LaRoche going to new teams. Also, there is lots of trade buzz around the league, and one that is particularly interesting to the IBI's Sam Camp is Justin Upton. He talks about how he would like to see the Indians acquire Upton and fortify the middle of their lineup.

Several Indians players were in action across five different offseason winter leagues on Friday night. Recently resigned infielder Audy Ciriaco had a nice night in the Dominican Republic, and the IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps his night as well as the rest of the Indians contingent...

The blockbuster moves continue this offseason as the Athletics and Blue Jays completed a huge deal on Friday evening relocating star third baseman Josh Donaldson to Toronto in exchange for four players. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps the deal and runs down all of the other news and notes from the day...

So far in his offseason series, the IBIs Hayden Grove has concentrated on keeping things within the Indians organization. All of the necessary steps he has outlined for the Indians to make a run at the 2015 World Series have involved players currently under contract with the Indians in one way or another. But all of that changes in today's piece as he shifts his focus toward a few players outside the organization which he things can help them next season.

Most of the Cleveland minor leaguers playing in winter ball got Thanksgiving off yesterday, with no scheduled action in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. Every player in Venezuela and Australia got a day off as well, leaving only Tim Fedroff in action. Join Jim Piascik as he checks in on the outfielder and takes you on a Fedroff-focused trip Around the Farm.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!